Local Businesses Compete in Dream Big Oklahoma Pitch-Off

ENID, Okla. -- The final round of the Dream Big Oklahoma Cherokee Strip competition will be Oct. 29 in Autry Technology Center’s Lectorium at 6:00 p.m.

Four small businesses will be facing off in this final round. At stake is $5000 dollars toward their business improvement ideas. Competitors will have five minutes to present their ideas to the audience and judges in a pitch-off event.

Admission is free, and the public is encouraged to come cheer on their favorite idea.

“Small business is the engine of economic growth, and entrepreneurial ideas and passion are the sparks that makes it work,” Cyndi Moore, program and event manager for Rogers State University Innovation Center, said. “Dream Big Oklahoma is an opportunity for these great people to get started or expand their dreams.”

The competitors include Enid Buzz and T & C Meats from Enid and Anderson & Company Salon and Spa and The Link – A Shared Workspace from Ponca City. Three judges will choose the winner that night after they hear the pitches.

“This is a way to get people who wouldn’t normally compete to give it a try, since it is just local,” Moore said. “Then they will realize that they can do it and will have confidence in the future.”

The first round of the competition was a voting round where people could vote online for their favorite idea. The top two winners of that round, along with two wild card choices, are the ideas that get to move on to the pitch-off. The winner of the Dream Big Oklahoma Cherokee Strip competition will have the opportunity to advance to the statewide Dream Big Oklahoma competition in March of 2015.

Dream Big Oklahoma is an annual entrepreneurial competition created by Rogers State University Innovation Center that pairs innovative online contest technology with live community pitch-off events. Its goal is to help diversify the economy, create jobs and build local wealth.

Autry Technology Center has been a part of the Enid community since 1967 and is one of 29 CareerTech schools across Oklahoma. The center has more than 25 career programs and offers a wide variety of evening and weekend short-term courses and certifications for many diverse career fields. Autry serves nearly 13,000 individuals each year, including many area employees who receive training through the Business and Industry Services Department that works with over 500 local businesses each year.